DOVER — A Somersworth man was arraigned Monday on charges of negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated after allegedly causing a crash that killed a new bride on her honeymoon and injured her husband.

Matthew Tsopas, 43, of Somersworth, was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail during a bedside court hearing at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, where he was still being treated Monday.

A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on his condition, citing the fact that Tsopas did not choose to list his name on the patient directory.

Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi said Tsopas was alert and able to answer questions from Judge Stephen Morrison, who traveled to the hospital to preside over Monday’s arraignment.

Police say Tsopas was drinking at the Martel Roberge American Legion Post No. 47 in Rollinsford on Saturday afternoon before he got behind the wheel of an Infiniti G35 and departed.

While he was heading west on Route 4, Tsopas crossed the center line and slammed into an oncoming Kia Spectra, police say. A witness reported the Infiniti was attempting to pass another car at the time.

Click image to enlarge

Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi speaks to the media outside Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Monday morning after prosecutors met with Matthew Tsopas, who is being charged with negligent homicide, felony driving under the influence of alcohol and felony conduct after an accident, after the vehicle he was driving struck a 2008 KIA Spectra operated by Brian Preiss of St. Paul, Minn., at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. (Ryan McBride/Staff photographer)

Inside the Kia were newlyweds Brian Preiss and Leah Fonda, Minnesota natives who were traveling through New England on a honeymoon. Fonda, who was in the passenger seat, was fatally wounded in the crash. She succumbed to her injuries after being transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Her husband was also treated at WDH, then transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Preiss was reported to be in fair condition Monday. He suffered internal injuries and wounds to his head and wrist.

Police say Tsopas fled the accident scene on foot. He was later taken into custody by Dover police without incident a short distance away.

Tsopas faces two counts of negligent homicide, which propose alternate theories. One alleges he is responsible for the death because he drank alcohol or took drugs before driving on Saturday. A second charge alleges he failed to maintain control of the car.

He’s also charged with felony aggravated driving under the influence, and two complaints regarding conduct after an accident, Velardi said.

Click image to enlarge

Judge Stephen Morrison leaves Wentworth-Douglass Hospital after meeting with Matthew Tsopas, of Somersworth, who is charged with negligent homicide, felony driving under the influence of alcohol and felony conduct after an accident, after the vehicle he was driving struck a car operated by Brian Preiss of St. Paul, Minn., at about 4:30 p.m. His wife succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. (Ryan McBride/Staff photographer)

Speaking outside the hospital Monday, Velardi said it’s likely that Tsopas will face additional charges in connection with conduct at the American Legion building before the crash.

According to a state police affidavit, Tsopas assaulted an employee and another individual at the legion building, located at 319 Foundry St., and struck four cars in the parking lot with his Infiniti before leaving Saturday.

Police say he crashed his Infiniti on Route 4 a short time later, near the intersection of Old Mill Lane. Tsopas attempted to run away from the crash scene, but he was confronted by a man who lives in the neighborhood, according to court documents. Police allege Tsopas struck the man in the face and attempted to hit him with a stick, then fled into a gully, where he was eventually detained by a Dover police officer.

“Officer Sean Kennedy could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person,” the police affidavit states.

Tsopas was taken to the hospital and later arrested. Velardi said police administered a blood-alcohol test, but he declined to comment on the results.

Click image to enlarge

Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi speaks to the media outside Wentworth Douglass Hospital Monday morning after prosecutors met with Matthew Tsopas, who is being charged with negligent homicide, felony driving under the influence of alcohol and felony conduct after an accident, after the vehicle he was driving struck a 2008 KIA Spectra operated by Brian Preiss of St. Paul, Minn., at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tsopas was an employee Executive Furnishings in Stratham, according to Velardi, who quoted from a brief biography contained on the company’s website while speaking with media outside the hospital.

Information regarding Tsopas was gone from the website by Monday afternoon. A cached version available on Google indicates Tsopas was an operations manager overseeing interior design at the company, which he joined in 2003. He grew up in the Seacoast area, according to the website.

A portion of Route 4 in Rollinsford was blocked off for several hours on Saturday as emergency first responders worked at the scene.

State police were assisted by officers from the Rollinsford and Dover police departments, as well as personnel from Rollinsford Fire and Rescue, Dover Fire and Rescue and American Medical Response.

The state Liquor Commission’s enforcement division is also investigating the circumstances. Enforcement and licensing director James Wilson said the agency was contacted by state police for assistance.

Click image to enlarge

Newlyweds Leah Fonda and Brian Preiss of St. Paul, Minn., were honeymooning in New Hampshire when she was killed Saturday during a car crash in Rollinsford.

“If there’s an incident of any nature that has a nexus back to the service of alcohol, we have the jurisdiction to investigate that portion of it,” he said.

He declined to comment on any preliminary findings.

A woman who was working behind the bar Monday at the American Legion Post declined to discuss the incident. A database maintained by the Liquor Commission shows that no disciplinary action has been taken against the Rollinsford American Legion Post in the past.

Family members said Preiss and Fonda, the victims of Saturday’s crash, met while working together at the theme park at the Mall of America. Preiss’s uncle, Chuck Czech of St. Joseph, Minn., said they got married in Bloomington, a few blocks from the mall, and took off for their road trip shortly after that.

“Brian, he’s kind of famous for road trips,” Czech said Monday. “As a child he would study maps of the United States, and when he got his license, he and his brother would just hop in the car and go to these places. And so Leah became part of that, and so that’s how they fashioned their honeymoon.”

Click image to enlarge

Newlyweds Leah Fonda and Brian Preiss of St. Paul, Minn., were honeymooning in New Hampshire when she was killed Saturday during a car crash in Rollinsford. (Courtesy photo)

The couple had planned to go to Boston and then on to Niagara Falls, Czech said.

Fonda’s mother, Jonnie Kunce, asked for society to bring an end to drunken driving during an interview with Minneapolis television station FOX 9.